The divorce asset-division lawsuit between SK Group (034730) Chairman Chey Tae-won and Roh So-yeong, director of the Art Center Nabi, has followed a roller-coaster path, with the award swelling from 66.5 billion won to 1.3808 trillion won before being adjusted to 944 billion won. The ruling came in a retrial after remand, nine years after Chey filed for divorce mediation in 2017. Analysts say the lawsuit, which brought a close to the couple's marriage that began in 1988, has effectively reached its conclusion.
Chey, the eldest son of the late SK founding Chairman Chey Jong-hyun, and Roh, daughter of the late former President Roh Tae-woo, met while studying at the University of Chicago in the United States. They married in 1988, drawing public attention as "the wedding of the century" — a union between the eldest son of a chaebol chief and a president's daughter. At the time, the wedding was held grandly at the Blue House State Guest House, officiated by then-Prime Minister Lee Hyun-jae, who had been Roh's teacher.
The litigation between the two began when Chey disclosed through the media that he had a child born out of wedlock. In December 2015, Chey sent a three-page letter to the Segye Ilbo to the effect that "I have a partner and a child born out of wedlock. It is currently difficult to continue married life." It was, in effect, a way of announcing to the world that the marriage had not been smooth. At the time, the daughter born out of wedlock was six years old.
In July 2017, Chey filed for divorce mediation to reach a consensual divorce with Roh, but in February 2018 the two sides failed to reach an agreement, and formal litigation proceedings began. In December 2019, while the divorce suit filed by Chey was underway, Roh filed a countersuit demanding asset division. At the time, Roh wrote, "I see no hope. I will let him find the happiness he wants." In her countersuit, Roh said she would accept the divorce and demanded 300 million won in alimony and 42.29% (6.5 million shares) of the SK shares held by Chey. Later, during the trial, she expanded the requested share ratio to 50%.
The first-instance court effectively sided with Chey in December 2022. The court ruled that Chey should pay Roh 100 million won in alimony and divide 66.5 billion won in assets. This was because it recognized the SK shares held by Chey as "separate property," excluding Roh's contribution.
The appeals court handed down a ruling favorable to Roh in May 2024. It sharply increased the alimony Chey had to pay to 2 billion won and the asset-division amount to 1.3808 trillion won. This resulted from a judgment that, because former President Roh Tae-woo's "30 billion won in slush funds" and Roh So-yeong's contribution had played a part in SK Group's growth, the shares of SK Inc. held by Chey were also subject to asset division. The court accepted most of the evidence related to "Roh Tae-woo's 30 billion won slush fund," including a memo reading "Sunkyong 30 billion won" kept by Roh's mother, Kim Ok-sook, and a 1992 promissory note in the name of Sunkyong Construction (now SK ecoplant).
Analysts said that Roh's decisive move of replacing her entire legal team had proven effective. The appeals-stage legal team included Kim Ki-jung, managing attorney at Yulwoo LLC (16th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), Lee Sang-won, attorney at Pyeongan LLC (23rd class), and Kim Su-jung, attorney at Liwu LLC (31st class). They were former officials who had come from small and mid-sized law firms.
Separately from the divorce suit, Roh filed a 3 billion won damages lawsuit against Kim Hee-young, chairwoman of the T&C Foundation and Chey's cohabiting partner. In August 2024, the Seoul Family Court ruled that Chey and Kim should jointly pay Roh 2 billion won in alimony. On the day of the ruling, Kim's side said, "I once again offer my apology to Director Roh So-yeong," and announced it would not appeal. Roh's side expressed displeasure, saying the payment had been deposited without any prior consultation or notice.
However, in October last year, the Supreme Court sent the case back for retrial, ruling that because the former president's slush funds were illegal money, even if the money had flowed into SK, it could not be taken into account as Roh's contribution in the asset division. The appeals court's ruling, which set the divorce of Chey and Roh and the alimony at 2 billion won, was confirmed as it stood.
In the appeal to the Supreme Court, some interpreted that Chey's replacement of his legal team had been decisive. Ahead of the appeal, Chey retained Hong Seung-myeon, a former presiding judge at the Seoul High Court (18th class) who had served as senior research judge at the Supreme Court and head of the judicial support office at the National Court Administration. He then additionally recruited attorneys well-versed in family cases, including Lee Jae-geun (28th class), Min Chul-ki (29th class), Kim Sung-woo (31st class), and Lee Seung-ho (31st class) of Yulchon LLC.
The retrial after remand on the asset division first opened in January this year. The two sides argued over whether the SK shares should be recognized as subject to division and over the reference date. The court referred the case to mediation proceedings, but the talks broke down. At the second hearing on the 24th of last month, both Chey and Roh appeared in person and came face to face.
After the ruling that day, Chey's representative told reporters, "Chey feels sorry for causing concern to many people throughout this process," and "he will state his specific position on the ruling after closely reviewing the judgment." Chey did not appear in court that day. Chey held a dinner meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in Woodside, California.
Roh's representative left the court without separately stating a position on the ruling.
Whether the two sides will file a re-appeal has not been determined. However, since the divorce and alimony have already been confirmed by the Supreme Court, only the asset-division portion is subject to a re-appeal.
